All posts tagged "Jeff Bates"

The 2013 CMA Music Festival will take pace in downtown Nashville June 6-9 with no less than six free stages featuring live music throughout the day and into the evening as well as countless activities. Tickets for the Nightly Concerts at LP Field sold out a record-setting six weeks in advance of the 2013 Festival, but fans will still have many chances to catch their favorite artists at CMA Music Festival.

Performance lineups for the previously announced Chevrolet Riverfront Stage and Bud Light Stage at the Bridgestone Arena Plaza are available at CMAfest.com, but those schedules are just the beginning of what fans can expect from country music’s biggest festival. Everything from autograph signings, meet-and-greets, cell phone charging stations, product demonstrations, auctions, giveaways, and more will take place in Downtown Nashville throughout the festival. Outdoor spaces are free and open to the public.

Some of this year’s events include:

Transitions Performance Park

New in 2013, Transitions® adaptive lenses will host Transitions Performance Park, where fans can get an enhanced view of the CMA Music Festival from atop Transitions’ two-story viewing platform. Fans will be able to test Transitions products, look through customized viewfinders and star in their own professional photo shoot.

The nominees for the 18th Annual ICM Faith, Family & Country Awards have been announced. Dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent among artists who perform Inspirational Country Music, the awards will take place Oct. 18 at Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville.

In addition to the awards, the Inspirational Country Music Association will pay tribute to the past 20 years of Inspirational and Christian Country music during the ICM Faith, Family & Country 20 Year Home Coming Concert Celebration on October 14 at the Cornerstone Church in Madison, Tenn. The annual convention will be held October 15-18 at The Millennium Maxwell House Hotel.

Game manufacture McNeill Designs for Brighter Minds will host its first annual celebrity charity event during CMA Music Festival. Country stars will sit down to play You’ve been Sentenced! – Country Music Edition on June 7th from 2:00-4:30 PM at the Hard Rock Café in downtown Nashville. Stars will play the game to benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospital and Success Won’t Wait.

“We’ve always known that the country music industry has tremendous heart,” Don McNeill, McNeill Designs CEO, said. “The interest and support shared by the community as a whole for this charity event has been overwhelming and it’s even more moving in consideration of the number of appearances, concerts and events these artists are juggling as part of their hectic CMA Fest schedules.” Continue Reading

The lineup for the 2012 CMA Music Festival’s Bud Light Stage at the Bridgestone Plaza and the new BIC Soleil Bella Beach Stage have been announced. The two concerts will provide fans with over 40 hours of concerts for free. The CMA Music Festival takes place June 7-10. “Live music is a hallmark of CMA Music Festival and we are excited to be able to add a new stage and even more performances this year,” Steve Moore, CMA Chief Executive Officer, said.

The BIC Soleil Bella Beach Stage is a new addition to this year’s CMA Music Festival with concerts and activities starting at 11:00 AM/CT each day during the Festival. The Bud Light Stage at Bridgestone Arena Plaza, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, is a fan favorite and a great place to catch up and coming country artists.

Artists currently scheduled to perform at the Bud Light Stage at Bridgestone Arena Plaza include:

Sawyer Brownhas partnered with world-renowned child advocacy organization, Compassion International, to fight child poverty around the world. The band hopes to inspire fans to sponsor children through Compassion International and will travel with the organization in early 2012 to see the work they are a part of first-hand.

“I always want to be a good steward of the many blessings God has given me,” Mark Miller, lead singer for Sawyer Brown, said. “Being involved with Compassion International will give me the opportunity to give back.”

Compassion International is the world’s largest Christian child development organization that permanently releases children from poverty. Formed in 1952, Compassion has served more than 1.2 million children in 26 of the world’s poorest countries and works with churches to address the individual physical, economic, educational and spiritual needs of children.

“The guys of Sawyer Brown are known for their big hearts, throughout the country music industry and around the world,” Zane King, Artist Relations Regional Director for Compassion International, said. “What a privilege to have them as part of our Compassion team.” Continue Reading

The last day of October is more than just an excuse to put on a funny costume. As it turns out, the date has been quite an important one for country music. Here’s a list of some notable events that happened on Halloween, courtesy of RolandNote.com, the ultimate country music database! For more country music and Halloween, check out our Halloween section with pumpkin carving templates, fright night memories from the stars and more!

Oct 31, 1912 – Dale Evans born in Uvalde, Texas. In December 1947, she marries Roy Rogers, with whom she stars on radio and TV. She also writes their classic closing theme “Happy Trails”

Oct 31, 1921—Malissa Monroe dies at the family home near Rosine, Kentucky. No one bothers to tell her son, 10-year-old Bill Monroe, that she’s dead until after she’s already been buried

Oct 31, 1954 – When Eddy Arnold plays Memphis’ Ellis Auditorium, a young Elvis Presley finds his way backstage. Presley meets Arnold and The Jordanaires, and spots–though he does not talk to–Colonel Tom Parker

Oct 31, 1960 – Elvis Presley records “Crying In The Chapel” at Nashville’s RCA Studio B. The single goes unreleased, however, for more than four years

Oct 31, 1964 – Darryl Worley born in Savannah, Tennessee. Noted for the strong traditional influence on his music, the lanky singer builds a solid career after his 2000 debut, striking a major chord for patriotism with his 2003 release “Have You Forgotten?”

Oct 31, 1993 – Actor River Phoenix dies of a drug overdose outside the Viper Room in Los Angeles. His final picture was “The Thing Called Love,” based on Nashville’s famed listening room, The Bluebird Café

Oct 31, 1995 – Bryan White, Derek George and John Tirro write “So Much For Pretending” on Halloween, distracted periodically by trick-or-treaters

Oct 31, 1998 – Lari White blows out the speakers when she sings the national anthem before the Miami Hurricanes’ football game against Boston College

The winners of the 2011 ICM Faith, Family & Country Awards have been announced. The awards were held October 28 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. The ceremony wrapped up Inspirational Country Music Week, presented by the Inspirational Country Music Association.

Ricky Skaggs was the big winner of the night. He took home the ICM Award for Entertainer of the Year as well as the ICM for Musician of the Year. Christian artist Chuck Day was another double winner, earning the ICM Male Vocalist award and the Inspirational Country Song of the Year award for his song “I’ll Stand Up And Say So.” ICM Female Vocalist went to Kali Rose while Jeff Bates was awarded the ICM for Mainstream Country Artist. Continue Reading

The first round of the ICM Faith, Family & Country Awards nominees has been announced. Awards will be given out in 22 categories during the 17th Annual Inspirational Country Music Awards Show which will be held on October 28 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville.

The 2011 ICM Faith, Family & Country Awards are the finale of Inspirational Country Music Week, presented by the Inspirational Country Music Association. This year’s event will be held October 24-28 in Nashville at various locations including the Millennium Maxwell House and Wildhorse Saloon.

“We are very pleased to have the Millennium Maxwell House as the host location of the week’s event, as well as the historic Wildhorse Saloon as a setting for a planned Appreciation Luncheon to be held during ICM Faith, Family & Country Week for media and participants,” ICM-Association Executive Director Jason Higgins said. “Combined with the awards presentation for the first time this year being held in the incomparable setting of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, we feel we are showcasing a real commitment to all that makes Nashville ‘Music City’.”

The 2011 Top 10 ICM Faith, Family & Country Awards first round nominees:

Rascal Flatts' Gary LeVox (l) and Marty Raybon at the 2010 Country Radio Seminar on February 24 in Nashville, Tenn. Photo by Wendy Newcomer.

With the release of his new album, At His Best, Marty Raybon finds himself at a unique point in life. The CD, released Tuesday, is stocked with songs that grapple with the transitions one encounters as time moves ahead. On Saturday, he’ll travel back in time, a bit, when his old band Shenandoah performs together for the first time in a dozen years.

Much of the album adheres to the changing nature of life and the ways people try to cope. The first single, “Daddy Phone,” struggles with the realignment of a family after a divorce. Other songs recognize the maturing of a son into adulthood, the dreaded mid-life transition and the ultimate segue, the end of life.

Not that Marty intended for At His Best to have a transitional theme when he started working on it.

He sings songs that rhyme “Pascagoula” with “hallelujah,” changes voices in his novelty titles and had one of his biggest-selling hits by celebrating a naked man streaking through the fruits-and-vegetables section at the local supermarket.

You can’t really fight the notion of Ray Stevens making an April Fools Day appearance on the Grand Ole Opry’s Country Classics. Ray was, in fact, just a part of the tomfoolery at the Ryman Auditorium Thursday from host Larry Gatlin, Jeff Bates, Jack Greene and comedian Mike Snider, among others.